In July 2011, an Aadhar camp was held in a Jogeshwari colony; till date all the documents residents submitted and their original Aadhaar forms are lying in a cupboard, despite repeated reminders to authorities to take them away

March 30, 2013

MUMBAI

Roshneesh K’maneck, Mid Day

In order to get their ‘unique’ identities in the form of Aadhaar cards, citizens first have to submit documents in proof of their ‘regular’ identities — PAN card details, passport copies, bank details, and other significant personal documents that testify for their age, date of birth and address.

Gathering dust: Over 1,000 residents had participated in the Aadhaar camp and provided their PAN card details with the hard copy of the form. Almost two years from submission, the documents have still not been picked up by the concerned authorities. Pics/Kiran Bhalerao

But is your identity, or at least the documents that prove it, safe with agencies deployed by the UIDAI to provide you your ‘unique’ identity? A recent discovery by MiD DAY gives evidence to the contrary. In yet another glaring instance of carelessness, sensitive documents of over 1,000 Aadhaar applicants — including PAN cards, hard copies of forms, and bank details — have been lying in a state of neglect in the cupboard of a housing society in Jogeshwari (West), in the room where an Aadhaar camp was organised for residents almost two years ago.

Aadhaar camp
In July 2011, Malcolm Baug, a colony in Jogeshwari (West), organised an Aadhaar camp for residents and neighbouring societies in the area. Their aim was to make the enrollment process easy for the people. Over 1,000 people from the area participated in the camp, making it a huge success.

Almost two years have passed since, and many of the residents are now proud owners of Aadhaar cards. However, copies of the compulsory documents they had submitted as proof of identity, as well as hard copies of the forms, were left behind by the agency that filed the data. Farokh Shaher, secretary of the Malcolm Baug Zoroastrian Association said, “On July 17, 2011, we organised an Aadhaar camp for our residents. We had spoken to the authorities and set up a centre at the community centre. The camp was a big success but it’s been almost two years now, and the documents which they had asked for from applicants continue to lie in our office.”

He added, “We have spoken at least 10 times to the enrollment agency in charge of data collection for Aadhaar cards in the colony — asking them to collect the documents. Each time, we were told that they would send an authorised representative to collect the papers in two days. But no one turned up. It is shocking that such sensitive information is lying around in sorry neglect. Reposing their trust in the authorities, the residents of the colony provided copies of address proof and date of birth. But they had no idea that their information would be left like this.”

Threat of data theft
An office bearer expressed relief at the fact that the copies and the forms are lying in the cupboard and not elsewhere, in which case the data could easily be misused by others.

Shaher added that even though he has sent a slew of e-mails to the Aadhaar helpline in January, no one has contacted him yet. The documents and forms of over 1,000 people continue to lie in the office cupboard. “We don’t know if we should return the residents their information or continue to wait for a reply from the Aadhaar officials.”

‘True shame’
MiD DAY contacted a few residents of the society, who expressed shock and outrage at the news. “How can officials not take care of the documents? We provide them with copies of our PAN cards and even our bank details and, it’s not even protected. It’s a true shame,” said a resident.

Another resident scoffed at the Aadhaar enrollment programme, pointing out that it made no sense to ask for hard copies of documents when the process was being conducted online. “The whole thing is a joke,” he added.

The Other Side
An official from the UID regional office said, “Data collection is the responsibility of the enrollment agency. We provide them with a definite timeframe in which to provide us with the data packages. During phase I, in which the residents enrolled for the cards, there were a few errors owing to which the documents were left behind. However, in phase II no such errors are occurring.”

Santosh Bhogle, state nodal UID officer and undersecretary, IT department of Maharashtra, expressed shock at the situation. “It is very wrong that these hard copies and documents are lying unattended. People trustingly provide their details, what has occurred is unfortunate. It was the responsibility of the agency responsible for data collection to submit the documents for processing to the government,” he said.

Woman fired for being homeless

Eunice Jasica

Written by

A Tupelo woman hired earlier this month by a KFC was fired Monday after the franchise owner discovered she’s homeless.

Eunice Jasica has been staying at the Salvation Army lodge since early December after losing her job, her car and her home.

The nonprofit organization requires its residents to seek employment daily and, upon finding it, to pay for lodging and start saving for a place of their own. Jasica said she had been job hunting for months and was relieved to find work on March 11 at the KFC on North Gloster Street.

A document signed by that location’s general manager on March 12 confirms Jasica had been hired to perform “prep work” and would receive a paycheck every two weeks.

But when Jasica reported for duty Monday, franchise owner Chesley Ruff withdrew the job offer upon learning she lived at the Salvation Army.

“He told me to come back when I had an address and transportation,” Jasica recalled. “But how am I supposed to get all that without a job?”

Ruff signed a letter the same day stating he couldn’t employ her “due to concerns of lack of residence and transportation” and that she could reapply when her circumstances change.

On Thursday, though, Ruff said he’d only used the homeless excuse to protect Jasica from the real reason he declined her services: She has no prior food-prep experience and seemed too elderly to lift the 40-pound boxes involved in kitchen work.

“I was trying to spare her feelings, I guess,” Ruff said. “I don’t know if that’s right or wrong, but I know it was stupid.”

KFC operates more than 5,200 restaurants nationwide and follows all applicable employment laws, but its independent franchisees make their own hiring decisions, said KFC Corp. spokesman Rick Maynard.

Mississippi is an at-will employment state. That means the employer or employee can terminate the relationship at any time for any reason as long as it doesn’t violate anti-discrimination statutes based on factors like race, age, color, religion, sex, national origin or disability.

Under the law, Ruff had the right to terminate Jasica’s employment based on her lack of a permanent residence but not, for example, because of her age.

Ruff said he never terminated Jasica, though, because she hadn’t yet been hired. The document signed by the store’s general manager says otherwise. The general manager would not comment.

Although he refused to employ Jasica, Ruff has hired homeless people in the past. Among them was Scott Kohlman, a felon who came to Tupelo after his release from prison.

Kohlman, who was homeless, had worked at Ruff’s KFC for several months and even became a manager, according to Salvation Army Maj. Sue Dorman. His story also had appeared in the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal.

Kohlman did not return a call for comment Thursday.

“Over the 20 or so years I’ve been in Tupelo doing business,” Ruff said, “I have helped people before.”

That’s why his refusal to employ Jasica shocked Dorman. She said she called Ruff after seeing his letter Monday and was told simply that it’s company policy not to employ people lacking stable housing or transportation.

Ruff never mentioned concerns about Jasica’s ability to lift heavy boxes or her lack of food-prep work, Dorman said.

“I was ticked,” Dorman said. “She’s one of those that’s really trying hard. She doesn’t want a hand-out.”

This week’s incident is a first for the Salvation Army in Tupelo and for similar agencies operating throughout Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana, said the organization’s three-state divisional spokesman Mark Jones.

This is in response to the e-mail dated 28.03.2013 sent to us by Mr. J.
Ravindran, counsel for Sun TV, in which he claims that the allegations
against the company in our press statement, *Eclipsing Women’s Rights:
Sexual Harassment at Sun TV – NWMI demands immediate reinstatement of
Woman Journalist* dated 28.30.13, are “totally false and baseless”.

We would like to bring to your notice the following:

1. The “Code of Conduct” of the Company demands “Strict compliance
with applicable laws, rules and regulations. The Board and the senior
management are expected to comply with all applicable laws, rules and
regulations in letter and spirit.” However, Sun TV Ltd. appears to have
blatantly flouted the orders of the highest court of the land, namely
the “Vishaka
Guidelines against Sexual Harassment at Workplace Guidelines and norms
laid down by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Vishaka and Ors Vs. State of
Rajasthan and Others (JT 1997 (7) SC 384) (hereinafter the ‘Vishaka
Guidelines’).

2. According to the Vishaka Guidelines, which is the prevailing law of
the land, “Sexual Harassment” is defined as the following:

Where any of these acts is committed in circumstances where-under the
victim of such conduct has a reasonable apprehension that in relation to
the victim’s employment or work whether she is drawing salary, or
honorarium or voluntary, whether in government, public or private
enterprise, such conduct can be humiliating and may constitute a health and
safety problem. It is discriminatory, for instance, when the woman has
reasonable grounds to believe that her objection would disadvantage her in
connection with her employment or work, including recruiting or promotion,
or when it creates a hostile work environment. Adverse consequences might
be visited if the victim does not consent to the conduct in question or
raises any objection thereto.”

3. The Vishaka Guidelines further state: “It shall be the duty of the
employer or other responsible persons in work places or other institutions
to prevent or deter the commission of acts of sexual harassment and to
provide the procedures for the resolution, settlement or prosecution of
acts, of sexual harassment by taking all steps required.”

There is no evidence that this requirement has been complied with at the
Sun TV. Neither were preventive steps taken to ensure a conducive
workplace, nor were procedures in place for the resolution and settlement
of acts of sexual harassment at the workplace. This is illegal and in
contempt of the Hon’ble Supreme Court.

4. The Vishaka Guidelines require that “an appropriate complaint
mechanism should be created in the employer’s organisation for redress of
the complaint made by the victim. Such complaint mechanism should ensure
time bound treatment of complaints.”

According to our information, such a complaints mechanism is not in place
at Sun TV Network.

5. According to the Vishaka Guidelines, “The said complaints mechanism
should provide, where necessary, a Complaints Committee, a special
counsellor or other support service, including the maintenance of
confidentiality. It must be noted that the Complaints Committee should be
headed by a woman and not less than half of its member should be women.
Further, to prevent the possibility of any undue pressure or influence from
senior levels, such Complaints Committee should involve a third party,
either NGO or other body who is familiar with the issue of sexual
harassment.”

6. The Hon’ble Supreme Court is fully cognisant of the vulnerable
position of complainants and witnesses in complaints of sexual harassment
filed against superiors, and therefore lays down that, “In particular, it
should ensure that victims or witnesses are not victimized or discriminated
against while dealing with complaints of sexual harassment.”

We find that this principle has not been complied with in the present case
involving Ms Akila, the complainant. Far from a fair redressal of her
complaint, she has been further victimised by placing her under suspension
on grounds of complaints from other women employees, which strains
credulity in a workplace which is reportedly hostile to women employees due
to the actions of senior management.

7. In compliance with the law of the land, we demand that an
Independent Inquiry be constituted. Since there was no existing Complaints
Committee, the Independent Inquiry Committee must be set up on the
guidelines under Vishakha mentioned in Point 5 above.

8. Ms. Akila should be reinstated and allowed to perform her duties in
a conducive work environment. Mr V. Raja and Mr Vetrivendan should remain
under suspension pending the Independent Inquiry to ensure that the Inquiry
is genuinely unbiased and conducted without undue pressure.

We believe that these steps, while compliant with the prevailing law,
might also contribute to the adherence of the Sun TV Code of Conduct to
“conduct the business of the Company in accordance with applicable laws,
rules, regulations, highest standards of business ethics and to detect and
prevent unethical conduct of business.”

Delhi. Shalini, a young revolutionary and a strong piller of several
important projects of publication and distribution of progressive, left and
revolutionary literature, passed away yesterday here at late night. She was
admitted to Delhi’s Dharmshila hospital on the evening of 27 March where
she was being treated since last January. On the morning of 28 March, as
her blood pressure dipped very low, she was shifted to ICU where she
breathed her last on the 29 March at around 11:25 pm.

Apart from being an enthusiastic social organiser, Shalini was also the
president of the society of the ‘Janchetna’ Bookshop, member of the Board
of Trustees of ‘Anurag Trust’, executive member of ‘ Rahul Foundation’ and
director of Parikalpna publication. Shalini’s 18 years of revolutionary
life was an example of a life full of sacrifices, combativeness,
uncompromising and principled attitude.

Her comrade and famous poetess Katyayani said that like a true communist,
Shalini faced all the pain valiantly till her last breath and was committed
to her life goal and communist values till the end. She wanted to donate
her body for the medical reusearch but could not get opportunity to
complete the legal formalities for this. As per her wish, her body was
wrapped with the red flag and and in the presence of her fellow travellers
of struggle, she was cremated in the electric crematorium at Lodhi Road on
the evening of 30th March.

A Revolutionary Life

Comrade Shalini’s political life began in her teens. She devoted her life
for revolution since 1995. She was active on student, woman and cultual
front in this duration. She was a strong piller of several important
projects of publication and distribution of progressive, left and
revolutionary literature.

Apart from participating in the publication of Marxist literature and
other activities in Rahul Foundation, Shalini took up the responsibility of
being the incharge of the Janchetna centre in Gorakhpur and Allahabad.
Since 2004, she had been looking after the responsibilities of the central
office and book shop of Janchetna in Lucknow. Apart from this, she had also
been assisting in the publication activities of Parikalpana, Rahul
Foundation and Anurag Trust. She also looked after the activities at the
main offices of Anurag Trust (library, reading room, children’s workshops
etc.). Shalini also took up the responsibility of the management of the
central library of ‘Arvind Memorial Trust’.

Shalini was a hard-working, young communist organiser with a rich
experience of eighteen years of difficult and turbulent political life full
of ups and downs. With an unwavering faith in communism, she did political
work like a labourer. She never looked back or compromised once she decided
her goal in life. Even when her father degenerated due to his vested
interests and class arrogance and started a campaign of slandering and
character-assassination, Shalini completely broke her relations with him
without a second’s delay.

It was in the second week of January that she was diagnosed with cancer in
Lucknow after which her treatment began in Delhi’s Dharmshila Hospital
Delhi. During the last three months, despite unbearable pain,she never lost
her morale and till the end she was hopeful of rejoining her front of the
people’s emancipation after getting well. She was a foundation stone of the
attempts of the revolutionary social change in India in the true sense of
the term and her life will continue to be an eternal source of inspiration
for her fellow travellers.

Sources said the news reader and her fiance were suspended from work at Sun TV pending an inquiry into another complaint filed by her colleagues against her.

Speaking to Express, the victim said the complaint against her was a “fabricated one” to shield news editor Raja and his associate Vetrivendan so as to sabotage the sexual harassment complaint filed by her.

The 28-year-old news reader filed a complaint with the police on March 19 against the duo alleging that she faced harassment at work after she refused to concede their demands for sexual favours.

The duo had also allegedly threatened her with dire consequences if she complained about their moves.

Subsequently, a case was registered under section 506(ii) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and section 4 of the Tamil Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act. Raja was arrested and was remanded to Judicial Custody while Vetrivendan went missing. The latter had moved the Madras High Court for advance bail on Thursday and the matter was pending. Raja is now out on conditional bail.

Meanwhile, an forum of woman journalists on Thursday sought immediate reinstatement of the woman news reader and her fiance. Network of Women in Media, which is an independent forum of media professionals across the country, also demanded an inquiry into the case and sought setting up of a formal mechanism to redress sexual harassment cases at the Chennai-based channel.

The forum noted that there is no redressal mechanism at the channel for complaints of sexual harassment. This is in contempt of the guidelines issued in 1997 by the Supreme Court in the Vishakha case, which places an obligation on every establishment in the country to ensure the rights of women workers by creating a conducive workplace free from sexual harassment.

On the same day, a group of women journalists in the city separately come out with a statement in support of the victim and condemned the practice of targeting women for lodging complaint of sexual harassment at workplace. Sun TV officials were not immediately available for comment.

TNN | Mar 30, 2013, 12.49 AM IST

CHENNAI: Doctors’ associations in Tamil Naduare up in arms after a 70-year-old physician in Chennai had to spend a night in prison for stopping a police sub-inspector accompanying chief minister J Jayalalithaa from entering the intensive care unit of Apollo Speciality Hospitals in Nandanam with his shoes on. Doctors have threatened to hold a protest on Thursday, if the charges are not withdrawn.

Dr Karunanidhi, a retired government doctor, is the personal physician of B Sivanthi Adityan, owner of Tamil dailyDinathanthi, who is admitted in Apollo Hospitals. On Wednesday, Dr Karunanidhi was arrested after sub-inspector Asaithambi complained that the doctor abused and pushed him when he went to the hospital to check on the security arrangements for the chief minister’s visit.Police charged Dr Karunanidhi under sections 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to a government servant while he/she is on duty), 353 (assaulting or using criminal force on public servant), 341 (wrongful restraint) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.The doctor was produced before the 18th Metropolitan magistrate Anandavelu. Dr Karunanidhi was remanded to judicial custody and sent to Puzhal prison. Almost immediately, the doctor’s lawyer moved bail application. Bail was granted at 8.30pm on Thursday. The doctor, however, had to spend the night in jail as the bail order reached the authorities after office hours. He was released on Friday.

Advocates, too, have taken exception to the speed with which Dr Karunanidhi was remanded by the magistrate. The Madras High Court has said on several occasions that magisterial courts should not behave “like a rubber stamp” and remand people “in a mechanical manner”. S Prabakaran, president of Tamil Nadu Advocates Association, said, “Assuming that an unarmed senior citizen intimidated an officer, a prima facie case is not made out for remand. The magistrate could have exercised discretion, recorded his reasons and let him out from the court itself.”

Doctors associations say ICUs are sterile zones and could be contaminated if visitors walk in without protective gear. Further, there is risk of infection to the visitors, which is why certain protocol is followed the world over. Tamil Government Doctors’ Association secretary Dr P Balakrishnan said Dr Karunanidhi had done what was best for his patient. “It is important for the hospital administration to ensure that certain zones are sterile. If they fail to do so, the doctor should do it,” he said.

Doctors also questioned the need to imprison a senior citizen. “He is a retired government doctor, who has been practicing medicine for several decades. He has been a great teacher. He will be available any time for an inquiry. What was the need to arrest or jail him?” said Dr T N Ravishankar, former honorary secretary, Indian Medical Association.

CHANDIGARH: Against the backdrop of a raging debate on the age of juvenile offenders following the Nirbhayarape, the Punjab and Haryana high court has held that benefits and privileges of juveniles should not be accorded to minors involved in monstrous crimes merely because of their biological age. Instead, it should be premised on the ability of offenders to understand the consequences of their actions.

“It is the advancement of the mental faculty of juvenile accused, which would suggest whether he is an adult or a juvenile,” the HC held while recommending a specialized examination of minors by experts who can evaluate their ability to segregate good and bad to show his/her maturity or immaturity to answer for the deeds.Justice Mahesh Grover of the Punjab and Haryana high court passed this judgment while dismissing the bail petition of a minor, a class VII student, who had allegedly raped two girls of class IX and X of his own school. The verdict came last week and a copy of the judgment was made available on Friday.

The judge was of the view that it is the factors related to growth and maturity psychologically and socially, but not entirely biologically, which would give an insight as to whether a person is a child or an adult.

“The courts ought not automatically assume that the statutory definition would confer the halo of a juvenile and give him an undeserving protection and benefits,” the court observed.

“In a country like ours the age given in the school certificate or the records of the school would only speak of an age imaginatively conjured by the parents at the time of admission. Even though it may form a persuasive piece of material, but certainly no credence and outright acceptability should be afforded to it.”

In this case, the juvenile from Chuchakwas village in Jhajjar district in Haryana had kidnapped the two girls in October last year. Both the victims and accused remained untraced for 10 days, during which the accused had allegedly raped both the girls at different places. While dismissing the bail plea of the accused, HC has asked the Juvenile Justice Board to consider the case in view of the observations.

The politically influential bureaucrat, who would have to appear before the court on April 5, had moved an application before the court through his counsel seeking to quash the warrant issued on March 22 on medical grounds.

Special CBI additional district judge Shyam Lal had issued the warrant after Shukla failed to appear before the court till March 19. The Allahabad high court had set the deadline for him to appear before the CBI court a month earlier.

The high court directives came after it dismissed Shukla’s petition challenging a chargesheet filed against him before the special CBI court in Ghaziabad, saying it was filed on the basis of the statements of his co-accused. He had pleaded for the quashing of the chargesheet as statements of the co-accused were not admissible under the Evidence Act.

The CBI opposed the petition, insisting the statements of the co-accused could not be ignored as they were involved as agents. It sought the petition’s rejection, saying the statements of the agents “cannot be overlooked”, as they are admissible evidence.

The agency had arrested Shukla in May 2012 for his alleged role in the scam after the Allahabad high court admonished the agency “for not touching the big guns” named in the scam.

He was granted bail three months later after the CBI failed to submit a chargesheet against him.

A 1981 batch officer, Shukla was principal secretary, health and family welfare, and NRHM director between 2009 and 2011 when the scam took place. He is accused of bungling upgradation of 89 district hospitals, causing a loss of over Rs 18 crore to the exchequer.

Shukla was a powerful bureaucrat during previous CM Mayawati’s government.

Senior minister in CM Akhilesh Yadav‘s cabinet Shiv Pal Yadav had met Shukla in Jail in July 2012. Shukla’s wife, also an IAS officer, comes from a politically influential family.

The scam came to light after the murder of two chief medical officers in Lucknow.

The CBI had arrested former family welfare minister Babu Singh Kushwaha in the same case. He had accused Shukla of signing forged documents to make fictitious payments.

AURANGABAD: The state home department has suspended Sandeep Bhajibhakare, one of three senior police officials accused of sexual harassing a woman police constable from the Aurangabad police commissionerate. Bhajibhakare, who was assistant commissioner of police (ACP) (Aurangabad cantonment) when the woman constable levelled charges against him, was recently transferred to Chiplun in Ratnagiri district as deputy superintendent of police (Dy SP).Confirming the suspension, Aurangabad police commissioner Sanjay Kumar said, “The state government suspendedBhajibhakare more than two weeks ago. He has approached the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal against his supension.”

In August 2012, the woman constable had complained to the Maharashtra State Women’s Commission (MSWC) that she had been sexually assaulted by Bhajibhakare and two other ACPs, K S Bahure and Naresh Meghrajani.

Highly-placed police officials said the suspension was based on the findings of the high-level committee that investigated the woman constable’s complaints. The committee was formed after the MSWC directed the Aurangabad police commissionerate to conduct a high-level probe into the matter and submit the findings within a stipulated time. After the inquiry, the findings along with the statements of the complainant and the three accused, and the alleged evidence submitted by the complainant, were sent to the MSWC and the director general of police’s (DGP) office in November.

The woman constable had also approached senior Shiv Sena leader Neelam Gorhe, who took a delegation to the city police commissionerate and demanded immediate action against the three ACPs.

Bhajibhakare was transferred to Chiplun in December last year. Around the same time, on orders issued by the DGP office, Bhajibhakare was also booked under section 509 of the IPC at the Satara police station.

In a reprieve to Bhajibhakare in mid-February this year, the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay high court quashed a judicial magistrate order to issue process against him under section 376(B) (rape by a public servant with woman in his custody).

Five of the eleven men, who had allegedly thrashed a girl and her family members after barging into their house in Sadar area in Amritsar, were arrested on Friday.

“The five arrested persons are auto rickshaw drivers and rest of the accused, who are yet to be nabbed, are also in the same profession,” Deputy Police Commissioner (DCP) Amritsar Koustab Sharma said.

On Thursday night, in a shameful act, a group of eleven men allegedly were harassing the 21-year-old girl, who was returning from a tuition class, and followed her to Batala Road area where she lived with her parents.

When the girl’s father objected to their behaviour, they forcibly entered into the house and thrashed him and other family members.

Before leaving the house, they threatened them of dire consequences if the matter was reported, police said.

The DCP said,” there were eleven accused who trespassed in the house of the girl and five have been identified, arrested and booked.”

Rest of the accused will be arrested shortly, the officer said.

According to the family members of the girl, her right leg was fractured in the assault and she was admitted to a hospital where she is undergoing treatment.